US: Missile targeting Saudis was Iranian
RIYADH WILL NOT ALLOW LEBANON TO BE PLATFORM FROM WHICH HARM COMES TO SAUDI ARABIA, AL JUBEIR WARNS
T op US Air Force official Lieutenant General Jeffrey L. Harrigian yesterday said that a missile launched by Iran-backed Yemeni militants towards Riyadh last week came from Iran and bore “Iranian markings”.
Harrigian said authorities were investigating how the missile was smuggled into Yemen amid a Saudi-led coalition controlling the country’s airspace, ports and borders.
His statement in Dubai confirms Saudi Arabia’s repeated warnings of continuous Iranian weapons smuggling into Yemen, where it has led a coalition to help Yemenis restore their internationally-recognised government, which was ousted by Al Houthis in 2014.
In an interview with CNBC, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said the missile was smuggled from Iran and was assembled in Yemen with the help of Hezbollah experts on the ground. Al Jubeir then focused his interview on the Lebanese militant group warning that Saudi Arabia would not allow Lebanon to “be the platform from which harm comes to Saudi Arabia”. He accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah of hijacking the Lebanese system and placing obstacles in front of Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri’s government.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait called on their citizens and residents in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible and the UAE urged citizens not to visit the country. The advisories come a week after Sa’ad Hariri resigned as Lebanon’s prime minister citing fears for his life.
“Lebanese people are innocent and have been dominated by Hezbollah and we need to find a way to help the Lebanese come out from under the thumb of Hezbollah.”
“Hezbollah has been an instrument used by Iran to dominate Lebanon, to interfere in Syria, with Hamas and Al Houthis in Yemen.”
“It has been responsible for smuggling weapons into Bahrain and is involved in drug dealing, criminal activity and money laundering. The world has to take action in terms of curtailing their activities,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, President Michel Aoun called on Hariri to return. The way Hariri resigned was “unacceptable,” he told Saudi Arabia’s envoy at a meeting. Aoun also met with envoys from the UAE, Egypt and Jordan.
Lebanese people are innocent and have been dominated by Hezbollah and we need to find a way to help the Lebanese come out from under the thumb of Hezbollah.” Adel Al Jubeir | Saudi Foreign Minister
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against Iran-backed Al Houthi militants in Yemen has reopened a land border crossing, a Yemeni official told Reuters on Thursday.
The Al Wadeah border crossing, linking Saudi Arabia with territory in eastern Yemen controlled by the Saudi-backed government, was reopened on Thursday, the official and witnesses said, letting food and other supplies enter Yemen.
The southern port of Aden was reopened on Wednesday.
The coalition said on Monday it would close all air, land and seaports in Yemen to stem the flow of arms to Al Houthis from Iran.
The opening of the crossing comes amid ripe speculation of an impending offensive on the Red Sea port of Hodeida which is controlled by the militia.
Last week a ballistic missile launched by Al Houthis was intercepted over the Saudi capital, which Riyadh declared as ‘an act of war’.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir in an interview with CNN last week said the missile was Iranian-made and came through Hodeida in pieces where it was assembled with the help of Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
Yesterday, top US Air Force official Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, said in the missile fired by Yemeni rebels was from Iran and authorities were investigating how it was smuggled into Yemen amid a Saudi-led coalition controlling the country’s airspace, ports and borders.
Riyadh is expected to take decisive action against Iran’s smuggling of arms to their Al Houthi proxies in Yemen by neutralising the threat coming in from Hodeida.